


The Doldrums of Summer

by Crystallized_Shadow



Series: MadaTobi Week 2019 [5]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gods & Goddesses, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Day 5, Fire Mage Madara, M/M, MadaTobi Week 2019, Reincarnation, Summoning Circles, Summoning Gone Slightly Wrong, Winter God Tobirama
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-10
Updated: 2019-08-10
Packaged: 2020-08-14 16:02:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20194924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crystallized_Shadow/pseuds/Crystallized_Shadow
Summary: The seasons have been thrown out of balance since the death of Madara, but nearly a millennia later Tobirama finds hope that his summer has returned.





	The Doldrums of Summer

**Author's Note:**

> Day 5: Modern with Magic AU
> 
> This is a sequel to To Kill a Season and a prequel to Stolen Winter.

As long as Madara could remember the seasons had been out of balance compared to the ancient texts he’d been forced to learn. The summers were short and full of droughts and wildfires while spring was just as short but full of heavy rainfall and flooding. Autumn lasted only slightly longer, but the temperatures plummeted rapidly and the few crops that served summer didn’t last long. Winter was by far the worst, harsher and longer than the other three seasons put together. The temperature never got above freezing and the lands were buffeted with blizzard after blizzard. If Madara believed in the elder’s superstitious babble he’d say the gods were mourning, but the young mage knew better; there were no gods, just unpredictable weather patterns.

It wasn’t until Madara was 18 that he began to believe that maybe, just maybe, the old crones knew what they were talking about. He’d always been abnormally strong, just like his ancestor that earned a god’s favor as the elders constantly reminded him. This coming of age ceremony would be just more proof of that claim; it never mattered what Madara did, somehow it was always his ancestor that got credit. Madara knew he should be focusing on his upcoming role, but despite the roaring flames making the room almost unbearably hot, it’s the raging storm outside that holds his attention.

“Are you ready Madara?” His father’s voice draws the young man's attention back to the flames, “honestly you’re a fire mage, why do you find this frozen weather so captivating?”

“I don’t know,” Madara admits with a shrug, rattling the flame-like beads on his necklace, “maybe because it always storms like this on my birthday?”

“You’re about to take your place as a full mage of the Uchiha circle,” the older mage states, “you don’t have time to wonder about such trivial things.”

“Of course father,” Madara mutters, following the mage into the room where the ritual is to be held. He would never admit it, but this room, so full of carefully carved runes, made Madara’s skin crawl. It was an irrational fear, he knew what all the runes did and he wasn’t afraid of that, but it was one he couldn’t shake no matter how old he got. 

The ceremony starts and Madara plays his part without a hitch, even when his fear nearly prevents him from stepping into the harmless circle of runes. As the elders begin chanting, Madara feels an inferno of magic rush through him as images flash before his eyes. 

_ A pale face with the prettiest red eyes smiling down at him. _

_ The flash of runes all around him. _

_ A knife in the hands of a dark haired man plunging into his eye. _

_ “MADARA!!!” _

That voice rocked Madara to his very core, but he knows he’s never heard it before. The whole experience could have lasted hours or only a few seconds, Madara isn’t aware of anything until he feels a hand on his shoulder.

“Madara?” That was his father, concern and disappointment warring in his tone, “what happened?”

“I-I…” Madara takes a deep breath to calm his nerves, Uchiha didn’t stutter, “I saw something…”

“You saw images with the magic?” His father questions and Madara nods, unprepared for the sudden cheering.

“You really are the reincarnation of Lord Tajima!” An elder cheers and Madara’s smile feels more like a grimace. If that man he’d seen was Tajima then his ancestor was a monster.

* * *

Time continued to pass, even without their beloved summer god, but still the gods mourned. Hashirama, the one who’d known Madara the longest rarely stopped crying and his sadness had rubbed off on Mito, who had respected her fellow god and missed his wit. Izuna, the Drought God and Madara’s younger brother, had stepped up to try and keep the seasons in balance but his anger was unwaning and often rubbed off on the Wildfire God. Of all the seasons though it was Tobirama that suffered the most, his other half having been torn away from him. Such a great loss had left him cold and bitter and with an insatiable desire to see the humans suffer.

It was during one of the truly terrifying storms Tobirama whipped up to mark the passing of another year since his beloved had been ripped from him, that he felt a familiar flare of magic. 

“Madara?” Tobirama finds himself muttering, shock gripping his frozen heart. There was no way that could have been Madara’s magic, he hadn’t felt it since the humans had stolen it from his beloved summer. 

And yet…

Yes! That was his love’s magic! But that could only mean...Madara had reincarnated!

Tossing caution to the wind, Tobirama goes to investigate, needing to see for himself if his summer has come back to him. His first look at the new holder of summer’s magic has Tobirama’s anger spiking, thinking the humans had somehow tracked down his beloved down before him and trapped him in another circle, until...they began to cheer? It almost seemed like the humans were happy with his beloved, but that didn't make sense, unless...oh. His beloved was human. Which meant it wasn’t a true reincarnation even though the human clearly possessed a spark of the original’s power; how interesting. Tobirama would have to keep an eye on the human, see what that spark did.

The more Tobirama watched the human mage, the more he thinks his beloved is in there somewhere. With each year that passed the mage’s magic more closely resembled the summer god’s power; it still wasn’t enough for the other gods to notice yet, but it was enough to give Tobirama’s a dangerous case of hope. He wanted nothing more than to be near the human, but he couldn’t just up and leave his duties behind. That is until he notices his little mage attempting to summon a lesser ice spirit. A tiny spark of magic chances a single sigil and soon enough Tobirama finds himself being summoned.

* * *

Staring at the beautifully pale man before him, Madara is struck by two thoughts; he had definitely fucked something up and he could have sworn he’d seen that face before.

“I am Tobirama, god of winter, why have you summoned me?”

“Ah fuck,” Madara mutters, trying to gather his scattered thoughts until the god smirks and scatters them once more.

“Very eloquent, have you summoned me to expand your vocabulary?” Tobirama asks with a raised eyebrow, his heart beating painfully at the familiar scowl his words earn him.

“Oh fuck you,” Madara snaps before he can stop himself, flushing when he realizes he just cussed at god, “ah sorry, I just wasn’t expecting you.”

“I’ve gathered that much,” Tobirama hums, glancing at the glowing runes around him, “if you were just trying to summon an elemental spirit this sigil should be different.”

“Fucking spellbook,” Madara grumbles, realizing that yes, he had indeed messed up one stupid sigil and accidentally summoned a god. “I am sorry for summoning you,” he says, bowing his head, “I was only attempting to find a familiar.”

“You seem very attuned to fire,” Tobirama observes, his tone curious, “yet you were attempting to summon a being of ice.”

“Uchiha are fire mages, our family was blessed by a fire god or something,” Madara explains with a shrug, missing the sudden wave of anger that passes over Tobirama’s face, “but I have always been fascinated by ice and blizzards and winter in general.”

“How interesting,” Tobirama murmurs, shoving aside his anger for the moment; it had been nearly a millennia since his beloved was taken and this human had no way of knowing his family’s power was stolen. “A fire mage attracted to his opposing element.”

“I’ve always been odd,” Madara chuckles with a shrug, “unlike pretty much every single member of my family I was born in the winter, on the solstice no less. I don’t suppose a beautiful god like yourself would be willing to partner up with me, would you?”

That sealed the deal for Tobirama, his summer was sleeping inside this human, he just needed to wake him up. “Actually I think I would be,” Tobirama states with a smirk, holding his hand out to Madara, “the question is can you handle being a god’s partner?”

“Only one way to find out,” Madara shoots back, shaking Tobirama’s hand before either one can change their mind.


End file.
